What I wanted to ask. . .

but didn't. If music is the food of love, as Mr. S. would say, what does it mean that Othello has the musicians stop playing? Is it that he's so uncultured that he doesn't appreciate music? Is it that Cyprus has such different music that it is unpleasant? Or is the "Wedding Band" just that bad? (Oh, the choices that a director gets to make! It could be comic! Tragic! Strange!)

Or is it as in Twelfth Night, that Othello doesn't want to have an "excess" of it?

"If music be the food of love, play on;
Give me excess of it, that, surfeiting,
The appetite may sicken, and so die."
--From Twelfth Night (I, i,1-3)

And then there's the "swan song" that Desdemona sings. Questions & more questions.

For the stage director, music adds dimension to a performance and helps showcase the talents of the actors. But what does it do for meaning? I know that emotional content and experiences are often tied to music. But what does the "Willow" song really add to the play?

I should go to the MLA and see what critics have said about the music. So many research projects, so little time.